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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29393646">Beyond Dying Breaths</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/OstaraNight/pseuds/OstaraNight'>OstaraNight</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Naruto</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Adventure &amp; Romance, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, F/M, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Necromancer Sasuke Uchiha, necromancer - Freeform, necromancers raise the dead, so there will be death</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 08:47:46</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,357</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29393646</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/OstaraNight/pseuds/OstaraNight</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Sasuke encounters a young woman being attacked in the woods and decides to aid her using his necromancer abilities. When he learns of her abilities and why she is being hunted, will he stay by her side? </p><p>AKA: Sasuke is a necromancer who enjoys a good lay but is also a bit of an ass, while Hinata will take all the help she can get and is used to dealing with difficult people.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Hyuuga Hinata/Uchiha Sasuke</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Naruto AU Week 2021</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Beyond Dying Breaths</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Sharing this for the Naruto AU Week 2021 prompt "fantasy".</p><p>The rating might change as it goes.</p><p>I was also influenced and inspired by InkChild's "Switcharoo" posted on fanfiction.net - such a great SasuHina writer and I recommend her works to anyone!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The girl was now sniffling with tears running down her face. This isn’t what he expected. Usually when he’d happen to save a girl they couldn’t wait to thank him. (Often even very physically.)</p><p>“I’m s-sorry. I just couldn’t…” She looked shamefully at the ground, “I shouldn’t have needed your help.”</p><p>He stared at the shaking, damp faced girl, unbelieving that there was ever a time that she wouldn’t actually need someone’s help.</p><p>The look on his face must have portrayed his skepticism, because her brow furrowed more and her head dropped again as she chose to elaborate in her quiet voice, “I’m a necromancer too…”</p><p>Annoyance bubbled in his gut. Not only was she crying but now to learn that she could have defended herself this whole time. As a necromancer, you never travel alone. Never have to fight alone. You’re able to call those you’ve lost to your side to fight with you. Their bond, their love for you, still connects them to your call far after their death.</p><p>He pushed down his annoyance the best he could, though it still seeped into his icy words, “Then why didn’t you?”</p><p>Pleading white eyes peered up from under her bangs, “I-I can’t!” Fresh tears trailed down her cheeks.</p><p>He rolled his eyes. Whatever. It’s not like he really cared anyway. “I’m Sasuke Uchiha. And you are?”</p><p>His question startled her enough that her tears paused and she looked at him with wide, shining eyes. “Hinata Hyuga.” </p><p>“Well, Hinata Hyuga, follow me...” She could follow him to the next town as the woods were not a safe place for someone as helpless as she appeared to be, especially as it started to get dark. He may be an ass (a moniker he heard enough to know there was truth to it) but he wasn’t a monster. “It’s not safe to travel alone here.”</p><p>“Oh! Thank you!” With that she scurried to grab her scattered and dropped belongings as she wiped her face.</p><p>Sasuke was grateful for the quiet as they walked. Only the quiet crunch of sticks and leaves filled the air between them. It wasn’t often that he found himself in the prolonged presence of a woman without finding them also talking incessantly, throwing themselves at him, or both. He took the chance to look over and study his companion. She was a tiny woman, though quite curvy despite the attempts of her cloak to hide it. Her inky black hair tried and failed to shield her from the moon’s shine. Her white eyes (or were they slightly tinged lavender?) and her pearl white skin glowed in the moonlight. She adjusted her pack and he quickly averted his eyes back to the road ahead of them.</p><p>“Sasuke!” His name was whispered breathily and he felt a sharp tug on his sleeve. He turned fully prepared to push her hands off him and tell her that he had no interest in tumbling with her on the forest floor (he still hadn’t decided if he was open to such a thing when they reached their destined town and a comfortable bed could be found) but he quickly realized her eyes were trained to the right on something in the forest.</p><p>Her voice continued to be no more than a whisper, “There is something following us.” Her hand remained gripped on his sleeve. He looked off to where her eyes seemed to stare, but the heavy tree growth encasing the path made it hard to see much of anything.</p><p>“How can you see anything?”</p><p>Her eyes glanced to his, “It’s a special trait my family carries.” He now took closer note of her face. Noticed the lines of veins running around her eyes. Noticed her brow furrowed in concentration. Noticed her teeth wearing on her bottom lip, “Trust me when I say there is something, and it is not small.”</p><p>Sasuke gave a stiff nod and moved a hand to lightly rest on the hilt of the sword on his side. “Then we will keep on walking until it decides to make its move… <em> if </em> it does.” Hinata nodded in agreement. As she went to release his sleeve his hand caught her wrist which earned him a surprised squeak. “Stay close.” He only let go when she nodded her understanding, as a pink flush colored her face.</p><p>They began to walk again, instinctively drawing closer together as they walked. Their shoulders now occasionally bumped as they continued on their way, with tension filling any space between them.</p><p>“Sasuke...” Her whisper came more panicked than before.</p><p>He had a feeling that with his luck that he knew where this was going, but also knew he should confirm it. “Hn?”</p><p>From his peripheral he could see her nervously biting her lip again. “There are now two more of them on the left. It appears that they are closing in.”</p><p>He let out a sigh. <em> Of fucking course there were. Why wasn’t anything ever easy? </em></p><p>Faraway shouts and piercing screams. Disconnected, muffled voices swimming in and out. Some familiar and some not.</p><p>“... little brot…”</p><p>“All...fault… s-so…”</p><p>“...plan on explaining…”</p><p>He pushed to remember. To grab onto reality and pull himself from the current, to ground himself again. His head was pulsing and throbbing.</p><p>
  <em> They were being surrounded. There had been 5 of them when they finally closed in. They were large - he would guess then to be around 8 foot tall, hairy, and hulking. Not fully human, but not fully animal either. Miss matched pieces for body parts that somehow combined the two. They had pieces of armor strapped haphazardly around their bodies for additional protection. Their skin was a sickly yellow green. Lower lips stuck out with sharp teeth jutting upward from their lower jaws. Yellow eyes started to glow as they only got closer and closer. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> He had pushed Hinata behind him with a tree behind her to cover them from an attack from behind. The strikes of his sword seemed to make little to no impact on their attackers. They neither slowed or reacted to his vicious swings. The only hint that his hits landed was the immediate appearance of oozing black blood from the deep slices which stunk of rot and death.  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> His sword alone wouldn’t be enough, especially being so vastly outnumbered. He pushed up his left sleeve, exposing the black crow tattooed on the inside of his forearm. Placing two of his right hand fingers on it, he quickly chanted the incantation, “Bound in life and in death, beyond our own dying breaths”. There was a yell (Hinata?) and he tried to turn to locate the source. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> But everything had gotten dark after that. He was fairly sure he had gotten all the words out and beyond his lips. What the hell had happened after? </em>
</p><p>Now, the voices were slowly becoming clearer and sharper, right along with the pain in his head.</p><p>“… running out of energy… my fault...”</p><p>“...you’re still with him? You’re the girl who I was called to help earlier...”</p><p>“Hinata, you were in trouble earlier and you did not call me?!”</p><p>“N-Neji…”</p><p>“Hmmm, so you are a necromancer to... and yet you travel together? He must like you. Rarely does brother take enough of an interest to keep a woman around for long...”</p><p>“And what does that mean?! Lady Hinata, what is your relationship with this man?”</p><p>“It’s n-not like that!”</p><p>“He needs to wake soon and release me or he never will - I feel his energy beginning to dwindle. Little brother, you need to wake. This is not your end, you have not accomplished your goal.”</p><p>He felt warm water drops falling on his face. His head was rested on something warm and soft.</p><p>“Please, please wake up, Sasuke. I’m so sorry. This is all my fault.”</p><p>He groaned as he willed his eyelids to open. Above him Hinata’s face hovered over his own. His head cradled on her lap, and her tears running from her watery eyes and dripping off her face and onto his own.</p><p>Hinata quickly inhaled before breathily exhaling the words, “You’re awake!”</p><p>He turned his head (which really did not feel good to move) to see Itachi standing with a long, dark brown haired man. The man had similar white eyes to Hinata. This… Neji (at least that’s what he thought he heard Hinata call him) stared at him. Neji’s gaze assessing and stern… judging. That must be one of Hinata’s summons. And she had said that she <em> couldn’t </em>. He felt anger bubbling in his chest as he glared back at Neji.</p><p>Itachi spoke, breaking into his thoughts, “Little brother… I’m glad you’re back.”</p><p>Sasuke furrowed his brow and moved his fingers again to the crow tattoo. “Release.” Itachi dissipated, though a small smile of relief and amusement played on his face as he did so.</p><p>Neji looked aghast at the curt dismissal.</p><p>Sasuke turned his attention back to Hinata. Her tears no longer flowed as her owlish eyes met his.</p><p>Sasuke tried to keep his words even, but his anger seeped into them, “You said you <em> couldn’t </em> , but it was only a <em> lie </em>. What are you playing at Hyuga?” Sasuke pushed up from her lap and turned to stare at her. The pounding in his head increasing with any movement was definitely not helping his mood.</p><p>Hinata turned her eyes to the ground and hung her head in shame. “I’m sqorry. Really, I am.” </p><p>Sasuke growled more than spoke, “You expect me to believe you? You have proven that you are nothing but a <em> liar </em>.”</p><p>“How dare you talk to Lady Hinata in such a fashion.” Sasuke ignored Neji, keeping his gaze trained on her. Wishing her to crumble to nothing under his scrutiny.</p><p>Neji started towards him, but Hinata’s soft voice stopped him in his tracks. “Thank you for your assistance. We will talk soon…”</p><p>Neji turned to her, “Not now. Don’t you dare, Hinata.”</p><p>“I’m sorry. We can talk about this later, I promise.” She moved her fingers to a hawk tattoo on the inside of her arm and whispered, “Release.”</p><p>A displeased Neji dissolved into the air.</p><p>She squeezed her eyes shut, her hands fisted tightly in her cloak, “You are right, Sasuke.” She bowed her head, “I’m sorry.”</p><p>His voice raised as he fought to contain his anger and he rose to stand over her, “Why? Why didn’t you protect yourself earlier, and why lie about your abilities to me?”</p><p>Hinata swallowed hard, “You know what it’s like. Every time…” she gasped at breath to steady herself, “...every time you bring them back… the whole time, you know that you will have to let them go again. You can’t even touch them… hug them.” Tears again found their way to her eyes and she wiped them away with her sleeve, but continued, “It feels like ripping out chunks of your heart. You never get to move on, it’s never goodbye… and you can’t… <em> no one </em> can keep them here indefinitely. They can only have a brief time of life again… so… fleeting.” She looked up into Sasuke’s eyes, hoping he could understand.</p><p>Sasuke pinched the bridge of his nose. He was still frustrated, and she could be lying, but it made sense. He could recall what it was like when he first began calling on Itachi for assistance. Why he still rarely called his mother. He hated how he understood; how weak acknowledging it, even if only to himself, made him feel. It wasn’t an easy path. The path of a necromancer was a path marked by loss and filled with death. Over time he had learned to accept it and build a wall to protect himself from the emotions and memories a summon brought with them. Learned to harden himself as needed to be effective.</p><p>If what she said was true, she had not. She was vulnerable. Weak. She had not found a way to come to terms with such things. She was too soft. She avoided using her abilities, like he once did. Pathetic.</p><p>His thoughts push his anger away, leaving only the pounding in his head, a bone deep exhaustion, and annoyance in its wake. He closed his eyes. “Hn.”</p><p>“Uhhh… there is something else I need to tell you.”</p><p>Sasuke sighed and opened his eyes once again to stare expectantly at her, willing himself not to snap. His patience was spent, but somehow she had more to tell him. </p><p>“Those… creatures. I think they were sent after me… specifically. Same with the attackers earlier.” She wore her bottom lip with her teeth, “So, understand if you no longer want to travel together. It would probably be safer for you not to.”</p><p>“Hnn,” Sasuke scowled in thought. His energy was pretty much non-existent at this point. He wanted to know more about why she was specifically being hunted, but summoning Itachi twice in one day, with the additional drain of not being able to dismiss him while unconscious was taking its toll. It was not safe to stay here long either. They needed to get moving. If she did not travel with him, she would be left to try to defend herself, something she wasn’t capable of doing based on what he had seen earlier in the day. Something didn’t sit well within him at the thought of leaving her behind. (Perhaps his own heart wasn’t as hard as he liked to believe.) He tried to justify that he wasn’t in great shape either, so he would be no better off on his own. (Though he knew he wasn’t the one being actively hunted…) </p><p>So, it was decided. He might as well live up to the nickname of “foolish little brother” that Itatchi had given him so long ago. “Help me check these bodies for anything useful, and then we can get going. You can’t be completely useless.”</p><p>“Oh… ah, yes!” surprised, Hinata quickly stood. A small, appreciative but apologetic smile played on her lips, as she handed Sasuke his sword which had rested beside her, before she headed along to search what was left of the creatures.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I have ideas of how I want this to continue (even another chapter started), though it might be a while.</p><p>This is my first time writing this pairing (first time writing Hinata at all), so I'd love to hear thoughts. Also, I always love reviews - but who doesn't?!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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